Moonlight
by Mystearica
Summary: Rita couldn't stand seeing the usually perky, happy Princess so sad. One Sided RitaEstelle


She wiped the sweat off her brow, taking one final glance at her work before shutting it down for the night. It had taken most of the night, but the Genius Mage Rita Mordio had finally managed to repair (well, replace; the Blastia had been far too damaged to repair) the Blastia of the Fiertia. Though Rita still wanted to slay the Dragon Freak for breaking it in the first place, she was much too tired at the moment to think of new ways to rip a new one into the other girl.

Even though she knew she should head to the quarters for some well-deserved sleep (after informing Tokunaga that repairs were finished, of course), the cool night breeze against her sweat-beaded forehead was enough to keep her outside for a few moments longer. What was the harm, she thought? She deserved a bit of cool air, after what she'd just done.

With this in mind, Rita made her way to the siderail of the Fiertia, closing her eyes as a slight breeze passed her face, kissing her cheeks and forehead with a tender touch. All that could be heard for miles around was the sound of the ocean; all that could be seen was the water, reflecting the light of the moon. It was peaceful, and Rita couldn't help but enjoy it.

"O-Oh …" A soft voice suddenly spoke from behind her, breaking the peaceful quiet. Rita opened her eyes, glancing in back of her.

Even in the dark, it was unmistakenly the Princess. Rita could make out her hair, colored a rosy shade. Her skin, pale; her eyes, a shimmering green. Even in the dark, Rita could see that the girl had remnants of tears in her eyes. Her expression softened, and she showed a certain concern that she didn't show to many others.

"Estelle .." She breathed. The other girl averted her gaze to the ground, clasping her hands neatly in front of her and idly playing with her dress.

"I-I'm sorry to disturb you, Rita, I .. I just … I needed to …" Estelle couldn't seem to get out whatever words she wanted to say. Rita allowed a tiny smile to grace her face. She stood, passing the other girl and dragging a couple of crates over to the side of the ship, sitting on one and patting the other, offering to let the other girl sit.

"It's okay. You're not disturbing me at all." If any of the others were out here, she probably wouldn't have been so kind. Estelle knew this, but the Princess wasn't one to reject an offer like this; so, as quickly as she could manage, she made her way to the crate and sat next to her friend, looking out over the ocean. She was quiet. Rita could see this, and she also could see exactly _why_ she was so quiet.

_All_ of them had been through a lot … but none of them had been through more than Estelle.

"I really am … an insipid poison," Estelle suddenly said, softly; as if she were afraid to break the quiet that had engulfed them. Rita rested her arms on the railing of the Fiertia, resting her head on her arms.

"Estelle, don't say that …" She said quietly, just loud enough for the other girl to hear. "You're not a poison. You're—"

"But I am!" She suddenly cried, cutting Rita off. Rita sat up, looking over to Estelle, who had hidden her face behind her hands. Sobs wracked the girl's body. Rita felt her expression become pained, to match with the pain within her; Estelle … Estelle was important to her. It hurt to see the normally perky, happy girl so sad.

"I … Belius … Belius was … Belius died because of … because of me! Because of _my_ power! Because of something _I_ did! She …" And once more, Estelle fell into another fit of sobbing.

Rita moved without thinking. She reached over, bringing Estelle into her arms as much as possible, burying her face into Estelle's shoulder. Had Rita been thinking straight, she probably would have recoiled; but she couldn't take this. She couldn't stand seeing the one person who was most important to her become a sobbing, blubbering mess right before her eyes.

"And yet," Rita said, a certain hardness to her voice, "Belius told you never to lose your kindness. Belius wanted you to stay who you are, Estelle. Yuri tried to prove to you that your power wasn't a poison, didn't he?! He _cut himself_ to prove that to you." She reached a hand up, trying to pry Estelle's hands from her face. Estelle allowed it, surprisingly enough. In fact, she removed both hands from her face, averting her tear-filled gaze to Rita, who's face was serious. Estelle gulped, trying to keep herself composed. It wasn't working well, as sobs still wracked her frame. Rita's face lifted, inches from hers, and stared, her eyes level with Estelle's.

"If you were a poison, Estelle, Belius wouldn't have told you to remain how you are."

Estelle's lower lip trembled, and in a matter of seconds, she had wrapped her arms around Rita's small frame and held her tightly, burying her face into Rita's neck and biting her lip to keep from crying. Rita, after a moment of shock, relaxed into the embrace, feeling her cheeks darken slightly despite herself. Rita could still feel the other girl's body shuddering with the sobs she tried to keep in. Though she didn't like hearing her cry, however …

"Hey. Estelle. Go on. Cry."

Estelle lifted her head, a question in those beautiful eyes. Rita's cheeks darkened a little more, and she averted her gaze away.

"You're not going to get it all out if you keep it in. So go on. Do it." Estelle bit her lip, then shook her head.

"I've done too much of that." She said, sniffing and releasing herself from the embrace. Rita felt a sudden chill overtake her body as Estelle separated from her.

"Despite … knowing what I do now about myself, I still want to know more," she explained quietly, turning her gaze back to the moon. The girls fell quiet for a few moments before Rita responded.

"So we'll keep going." Estelle slumped slightly.

"But …"

"There's no room to disagree! Look, we all want to help you. Well, maybe with the exception of the Dragon Freak, but … if you want to know who you are, then … d-damn it, Yuri, the twerp, and I at the _least_ will be more than happy to help you along! So long as it doesn't involve, y'know, you going into places _alone_ that aren't good for your health," Rita frowned.

"I can't—"

"You can't what?" Rita retorted, "You can't drag us into this any more than you already have? Nuh-uh, I don't think so. I won't let you say that."

Estelle and Rita were both quiet for another few moments, before Estelle sighed.

"I'm going to bed," She said quietly. "You should get some rest soon, too, Rita." She stood, walking toward the cabin. She stopped as she came to the door.

"Um … Rita?" She turned to look back at the other girl. Rita cocked an eyebrow, silently letting her know that she had her attention.

"Thank you. For … For everything. You're a good friend." And she disappeared into the cabin, a ghost of a smile crossing her lips. Rita sat, slowly turning her attention back to the moonlight reflected upon the water.

"Friend, huh?"

Rita closed her eyes, remembering when she first met Estelle.

"_I've never had a friend my own age before!" The pink-haired princess exclaimed excitedly, her eyes shining with the glee she felt from the fact that the smaller girl was going to be traveling with them. _

"I've never had a friend before," She murmured. "It's nice to have a friend … I guess." She opened her eyes halfway, staring out onto the water.

The dull ache inside of her heart told her that it wasn't just friendship that she wanted from Estelle.

* * *

**author's jargon:** Needs more Rita/Estelle. :( I'm actually not too happy with how this turned out ... it seems kind of pointless. Of course, I have a bad habit of there never really being much of a point to any of my fanfictions, and seeing as this is the first _serious_ fanfiction I've written in the past ... whoosh, God ... year or two? I suppose a start like this is better than nothing. But yes. Rita/Estelle is my Vesperia Pairing of Choice. And it needs more love. Where's the love, guys?


End file.
